A social enterprise is a business which has

• a social or environmental mission at its core,
• earns at least half of its income through trading and
• has little or no profit distribution.

There are several legal forms for social enterprises in the UK, such as CICs (Community Interest Companies), companies limited by guarantee without share capital, charitable trusts, credit unions and housing associations.

A social entrepreneur is someone who sets up and runs a social enterprise. They are motivated by their passion for a social or environmental issue. Read more here.

We don’t know! But we want to find out. We consider it really important to understand the local social enterprise economy as well as recognise all the benefits we all bring. One of the aims in setting up this network is to find out about the existing social enterprises. Part of the problem is that many businesses may not even realise they are a social enterprise, for example if they are a charitable trust and used to rely on donations but now earn their income by delivering services and/or supplying goods.

Currently in Northamptonshire one of the main sources of support for social enterprise is from the University of Northampton who deliver Inspire2Enterprise and are the first Ashoka U Changemaker accredited campus in the UK. Ashoka is awarded to colleges and universities globally that have embedded social innovation and social impact as a core value. Inspire2Enterprise offers information, advice and guidance to the sector. The University of Northampton has a range of services which can be accessed by social enterprises this could include research or a student placement through their Changemaker programme. They provide support for businesses in general on behalf of SEMLEP. The University also delivers a number of commercially focused business support schemes accessible to social enterprise

Other business support for social enterprises includes that provided from various sources for all businesses including ‘for profit’ businesses. Local independent network groups such as North Northants Business Network provide a valuable service with news and networking opportunities. The FSB and Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce also provide business support to members.

• First, find your local social enterprises and talk to them. Get to know us and what we are trying to achieve, what our challenges are and then you may be able to see ways we can all help each other.
• Become well-informed about social enterprises generally to help you recognise the positive benefits for your area. See this guide for councils about the potential of social enterprise and learn about the forthcoming changes to the Social Value Act – important for your procurement processes.
• Fly the flag for social enterprise at council meetings by supporting motions and decisions that enable social enterprises to thrive.
• Good at social media? Highlight the good things your local social enterprises are doing – positive news can help lift anyone. Many local social enterprises will be adding their social media accounts to their profiles on this website so you can tag them easily.
• Got a problem? Make use of your social enterprises by consulting us on relevant issues – it may be something we have experience with and share your goal to improve.

We welcome any social enterprises in North Northants to be part of our informal network. None of us are paid to do this so we ask everyone to consider what skills or resources they may be able to contribute. There is no charge to be featured on the website and this option is available to those in our network.

We reserve the right to not include a request and we also can’t make promises about how quickly we can feature your social enterprises – we’ve all got busy day jobs running our social enterprises! Register your North Northants social enterprise here.

NNSE was originally launched under the wing of Brightwayz social enterprise. As it grew we recognised that the governance needed to be wider and involve other local social enterprises so we set it up as an unconstituted community association in 2024. Nine members from nine different local social enterprises across a range of sectors formed our first elected committee. This was fine for the stage we were at – a self-help network of local social enterprise leaders.

As we grew further we took up the new opportunity to be  part of the Aspire NN partnership and support social enterprises on behalf of North Northants Council. Having this contract required NNSE to have a stronger governance structure. So NNSE became a large membership community interest company limited by guarantee on 20 February 2025.

Legal name: North Northants Social Enterprise Network CIC. Company Registration: 16265387, registered on 20 February 2025. Registered address: Unit 7 Grange Road Industrial Estate, Grange Road, Geddington, Kettering, Northants, NN14 1AL.  Link to Articles of Association

Directors: Joanne Zara Moore, Alison May Holland and Jane Elizabeth Rowley.

Committee (elected prior to CIC formation when NNSE was an unconstituted association) and represented social enterprises: Alison Holland (Chair) rep Brightwayz, Joanne Moore (Vice Chair) rep Accommodation Concern, Jane Rowley (Treasurer) rep Youth Works Northants,  Lorna Dodge (Marketing) rep Love Corby, Richard Ellis rep Teamwork Trust, Emma Kendrick rep Laugh Out Loud Theatre, Mandy Young rep Adrenaline Alley, Cathy Armstrong rep The Business Exchange and Ka Li Chun rep CommMiniBus.

In September 2024 we had the opportunity to partner with local organisations to bid for the local ‘VCSE infrastructure’ contract with North Northants Council. ‘VCSE infrastructure’ means the support that the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector organisations in the local area need in order to function well, meet local needs and thrive.

Following a successful joint bid to North Northants Council, led by lead partner Groundwork Northants along with Serve, Volunteer Action, Northants ACRE and Support North Northants we formed the Aspire NN partnership. Our role as a partner it to help boost the earning capacity and opportunities for the wider local VCSE sector (not just social enterprises). This contract started in December 2024 and will continue until November 2027 and hopefully beyond!

The practical support we are providing as part of the Aspire NN contract includes the development, launch and promotion of our Buy Social Buy Local directory of goods, services and hire facilities available from local VCSE organisations as well as other opportunities to connect, support and support the sector.

For more information about Aspire NN and the wider support available to voluntary, community and social enterprises in North Northants visit www.aspirenn.org.uk

Take a look at the Social Enterprise UK website as they have plenty of information to help anyone interested. They promote, campaign and lobby for social enterprises so are a good source of support for all social enterprises. Also the School for Social Entrepreneurs runs courses for those in the sector.